People walk and run the same way. They pick up one foot while the other foot is still on the ground. The elevated foot is moved forwardly in the air and is then set down. The heel contacts first while the toe is still elevated. After heel contact, the foot is swung downwardly to move the ball of the foot into contact with the ground and raise the heel. At the same time, the person shifts his/her weight on the trailing foot, moving the toe downwardly and raising the heel. Using conventional shoes, with each step the walker or runner moves forwardly a distance equal to the distance between the rear end of the trailing shoe and the front end of the leading shoe.
An object of this invention is to provide a shoe that increases the length of each step by allowing the upper portion of each forward shoe to slide forwardly into an advanced position before the shoe is lifted and moved to create the next step.
An object of the invention is to lengthen each step an amount substantially equal to about 3/8 of an inch to about 3/4 of an inch. Over a long distance these additional increments of travel add up to a substantial amount of extra travel by the walker or runner.